Talladega

[pache100]

Schedule for the weekend:

Broadcast Date Time Event
04|27|06 3:45 p.m. Aaron's 312 practice

04|27|06 5:15 p.m. Aaron's 312 rookie practice

04|27|06 5:45 p.m. Aaron's 312 final practice

04|28|06 2:30 p.m. Aaron's 499 practice

04|28|06 4 p.m. Aaron's 499 final practice

04|28|06 5 p.m. Aaron's 312 qualifying

04|29|06 10:05 a.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 practice

04|29|06 11:30 a.m. Aaron's 499 qualifying

04|29|06 11:30 a.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 rookie practice

04|29|06 Noon Aaron's 499 qualifying

04|29|06 Noon Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 final practice

04|29|06 2:45 p.m. Aaron's 312

04|29|06 2:45 p.m. Aaron's 312

04|29|06 3 p.m. Aaron's 312

04|29|06 5 p.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 qualifying

04|29|06 7:45 p.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

04|29|06 7:45 p.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

04|29|06 8 p.m. Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

04|30|06 12:15 p.m. Aaron's 499

04|30|06 1:15 p.m. Aaron's 499

04|30|06 1:30 p.m. Aaron's 499

[pache100]

Qualifying order for the Busch Series Aaron's 312, Saturday 29 April 2006:

Order Car Driver Make Sponsor
1 90 Stephen Leicht Ford CitiFinancial
2 10 John Andretti* Ford Freedom Rds/Campng Wld/RVs.com
3 4 Mark Green Dodge GEICO/Brymak
4 14 Steadman Marlin Dodge Sadler Brothers Trucking
5 16 Greg Biffle Ford Ameriquest Mortgage
6 72 Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet Cayman Islands
7 60 Carl Edwards Ford FreeCreditReport.com
8 35 Regan Smith Ford McDonald's
9 21 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet U.S. Coast Guard
10 88 Mark McFarland* Chevrolet U.S. Navy
11 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Lowe's/Spectrum Spectracide
12 25 Ashton Lewis Ford U.S. Marines
13 8 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker
14 36 Tim Sauter Chevrolet Lester Buildings
15 99 Michael Waltrip Dodge Aaron's
16 27 David Green Ford Kleenex/Food World
17 01 Jay Sauter Chevrolet Western Union
18 34 Paul Tracy Chevrolet American Crew/Sport Clips
19 05 Justin Ashburn Chevrolet Spectra Metals/Fikes Automotive
20 59 Stacy Compton Ford Kingsford Sure Fire/Bush's Beans
21 49 Derrike Cope Ford Advil/Xtreme gel
22 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet ACDelco
23 06 Todd Kluever* Ford 3M
24 33 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Old e/"Talladega Nights"
25 50 Danny O'Quinn Jr.* Ford Stonebridge Life Insurance
26 43 Aaron Fike Dodge Curb Records
27 22 Kenny Wallace Ford AutoZone
28 9 Scott Riggs Dodge Ragu
29 138 Jason Leffler Chevrolet Great Clips
30 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Vigoro/The Home Depot
31 66 Ken Schrader Ford Yard-Man
32 157 Brian Vickers Chevrolet Ore-Ida
33 1 Mike Wallace Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
34 12 Tracy Hines* Dodge Take Me On Vacation/Supercuts Beach Bash
35 77 Burney Lamar* Chevrolet Dollar General
36 20 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet Rockwell Automation
37 64 Jamie McMurray Dodge Top-Flite XL Extreme
38 11 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards/Turtle Wax Ice
39 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Discount Tire
40 00 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet FleetPride/Yellow
41 47 Jon Wood Ford Armor All
42 0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet RaceGirl
43 228 Chad Chaffin Chevrolet Jay Robinson Inc.


* Denotes Rookie

[pache100]

About the track:





Talladega Superspeedway
On an unassuming stretch of land suited for soybean farming located next to a couple of abandoned airport runways, crews constructed the biggest superspeedway in NASCAR -- Talladega Superspeedway.

Since Alabama International Motor Speedway (as it was called until 1989) opened its gates in September of 1969, the track has surpassed every initial expectation.

Talladega, Ala. emerged as the top choice among several possible sites in the Southeast, with the main criteria for selection being availability of land, access to the interstate system and a population base of at least 20 million people within 300 miles.

Anniston insurance executive Bill Ward, a race driver and fan himself, helped NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation founder William H.G. (Bill) France find the land in Alabama, following a casual conversation with France in Daytona in the mid-1960s. Ward found what he thought was the perfect site in north Talladega County near an airport that the U.S. Government had sold to the City of Talladega after World War II. He set up a meeting with then-Talladega Mayor James Hardwick and other city officials, and in a restaurant in Anniston in 1966, France got the group to consider the idea of putting a major track on the site. After a trip to the Firecracker 400 in Daytona to observe first-hand the potential economic impact, the group was sold.

Several obstacles had to be overcome, including financing. With France as the guiding force, however, construction began on the 2,000-acre site on May 23, 1968, with the first race being the 'Bama 400 Grand Touring race on Saturday, Sept. 13, 1969. Ken Rush drove his Camaro to Victory Lane in that event. The next day, Richard Brickhouse won the first Grand National (now Nextel Cup) race, the Talladega 500 (now known as the UAW-Ford 500), edging Jim Vandiver and Ramo Stott.

The practice and qualifying speeds were so high (Charlie Glotzbach won the pole at 199.466 mph) that the tire companies could not come up with a compound that held together for many laps. The Professional Drivers Association (PDA), led by Richard Petty, declared the situation unsafe, and left the track Saturday afternoon.

France decided the race would go on, using the drivers that decided not to participate in the boycott, plus some of those who had raced the day before. The full 500 miles were run without a major incident.

His action broke the back of the PDA, which dissolved a couple of years later.

In 1987, Bill Elliott established a world stock-car record when he posted a speed of 212.809 mph. in qualifying for the Aaronýs 499. Mark Martin established a 500-mile stock-car record in 1997 when he won the caution-free spring Aaronýs 499 with an average speed of 188.354 mph.

But the track's true dominator was Dale Earnhardt, who posted 10 Cup wins at Talladega.

The grandstands seating capacity is 143,231 including the most recent expansion of the O.V. Hill South Tower. The 212-acre all-reserved infield holds many thousands more.

Perhaps the greatest 1-2-3 finish in motorsports occurred in the 1981 UAW-Ford 500, when rookie Ron Bouchard passed both Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte in the final 500 yards to win by less than a foot over Waltrip and two feet over Labonte.

[pache100]

Qualifying for the Nextel race won't be until tomorrow; I'll try to post the lineup afterward.

[chode_regulator]

damn rain

[pache100]

Dang! Now I won't get to see it because I have to work tomorrow. This sucks. Anyway, here's the starting lineup, should they ever decide to run the race:

Pos. Car Driver Make Sponsor Speed Time Behind
1 38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 188.511 50.798 Leader
2 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 187.658 51.029 -0.231
3 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 187.320 51.121 -0.323
4 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 187.232 51.145 -0.347
5 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 187.137 51.171 -0.373
6 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 187.130 51.173 -0.375
7 16 Greg Biffle Ford Subway/National Guard 186.991 51.211 -0.413
8 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 186.933 51.227 -0.429
9 14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Waste Management 186.925 51.229 -0.431
10 6 Mark Martin Ford AAA 186.856 51.248 -0.450
11 18 J.J. Yeley* Chevrolet GSK AsthmaControl.com 186.827 51.256 -0.458
12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 186.685 51.295 -0.497
13 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's 186.652 51.304 -0.506
14 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont/Pepsi 186.587 51.322 -0.524
15 07 Clint Bowyer* Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 186.521 51.340 -0.542
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 186.478 51.352 -0.554
17 40 David Stremme* Dodge Lone Star Steakhouse/Saloon 186.463 51.356 -0.558
18 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL My Circle 186.427 51.366 -0.568
19 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Menards/Turtle Wax Ice 186.217 51.424 -0.626
20 1 Martin Truex Jr.* Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker 186.018 51.479 -0.681
21 55 Michael Waltrip Dodge NAPA Auto Parts 185.971 51.492 -0.694
22 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Chevrolet Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 185.787 51.543 -0.745
23 61 Kevin Lepage Ford State Water Heaters 185.761 51.550 -0.752
24 00 Hermie Sadler Ford Aaron's 185.758 51.551 -0.753
25 42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 185.689 51.570 -0.772
26 32 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Tide-Downy 185.632 51.586 -0.788
27 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 185.578 51.601 -0.803
28 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Schwan's Home Service 185.571 51.603 -0.805
29 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 185.527 51.615 -0.817
30 11 Denny Hamlin* Chevrolet FedEx Freight 185.445 51.638 -0.840
31 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Betty Crocker/STP Oil Stabilizer 185.423 51.644 -0.846
32 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley FatMax/Valvoline 185.423 51.644 -0.846
33 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 185.348 51.665 -0.867
34 34 Chad Chaffin Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 185.230 51.698 -0.900
35 21 Ken Schrader Ford Little Debbie 185.140 51.723 -0.925
36 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 185.126 51.727 -0.929
37 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 185.104 51.733 -0.935
38 22 Dave Blaney Dodge Caterpillar 184.815 51.814 -1.016
39 66 Jeff Green+ Chevrolet Best Buy 184.249 51.973 -1.175
40 31 Jeff Burton+ Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 184.012 52.040 -1.242
41 41 Reed Sorenson+* Dodge Target 183.892 52.074 -1.276
42 29 Kevin Harvick+ Chevrolet Reese's Caramel Cup 183.864 52.082 -1.284
43 4 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet AERO Exhaust 185.154 51.719 -0.921

Did not Qualify
44 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Victory in Jesus/Dutch Quality Stone 184.847 51.805 -1.007
45 95 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet TheRaceSpace.com 184.811 51.815 -1.017
46 109 Mike Wallace Ford Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 184.590 51.877 -1.079
47 92 Chad Blount Dodge Front Row Motorsports 183.361 52.225 -1.427
48 49 Brent Sherman* Dodge Serta 183.014 52.324 -1.526
49 178 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet National Day of Prayer 182.598 52.443 -1.645


+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie

[pache100]

I'm listening to the scanner on NASCAR.com. It's free for today's race. Pretty interesting. I've never heard information about the race from this perspective. I decided to try it because I'm at work and can't watch on tv. When I put my headphones on, they think I'm listening to CDs...heck, I could be listening to anything... .

You can pick a driver to listen to their radio transmissions, or you can listen to all drivers. I have a hard time telling them apart with all those southern accents, so I have been just switching back and forth between Junior, Kasey, DJ, and Mikey. Junior, is by far, the funniest man in NASCAR. He is a trip.

[KEDA]

I thought you had to have trackpass to get the free scanner today

BTW Im watching it on FX

[pache100]

I thought you had to have trackpass to get the free scanner today

BTW Im watching it on FX

You lucky dog! I almost called in sick today. How is everybody doing? I just came out of a meeting and have not been listening for about an hour. (You can't really tell anything about anybody else or what is happening to other drivers/cars by listening to the scanner.)

You can get scans for 12 drivers free today. Here is the Free Scanner Lineup:

NASCAR.COM
Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.

Listen to your favorite driver's in-car audio FREE with Raceday Scanner during Talladega - today at Noon ET. You’ll hear every word your favorite driver -- and the rest of the compe ion -- says from the drop of the green flag all the way through to the checkers. Sign up now and save $5 off the annual subscription price.

If you want to check it out, you can go to NASCAR.com and click under the picture (which, unfortunately right now is Junior spinning out, looks like) where it says TrackPass and "Scanner".

Edit: Copying the board didn't pull the drivers off...they are
Martin
Bowyer
Kahne
Junior
Newman
Gordon
Harvick
Waltrip
Edwards
Jarrett
Truex, Jr.
Johnson

[pache100]

YIKES! (What a mess!)

Kahne, Martin, Kyle Busch involved in crash
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
May 1, 2006
01:41 PM EDT (17:41 GMT)

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A 12-car crash on the 10th lap of the Aaron's 499 affected three drivers who are competing for the championship.

Kasey Kahne was the biggest loser in the accident Monday, which occurred when the field went five-wide heading into Turn 3 at Talladega. Kahne was third in the points, but his Dodge was nearly destroyed in the crash.

Kahne was hit multiple times in the crash, and he spent 15 minutes getting checked out in the infield medical center before finally being cleared to leave.

"Everybody went five-wide and I knew something was going to happen," Kahne said. "We just got into the middle of everything. I don't know what happened but it was definitely the wrong time for it to happen."

Kasey Kahne did not receive medical clearance to resume the race, so Evernham Motorsports placed Hermie Sadler, whose car was retired as a result of the crash, as a relief driver.

The crash also took out le contenders Mark Martin and Kyle Busch, although Busch's car was repaired and back on the track within 20 minutes.

Martin was sitting on a director's chair in the garage a mere five minutes after the wreck. Martin, who has always been highly critical of restrictor-plate racing, was fourth in the points before the wreck.

"Please don't ask me what happened," Martin said. "I don't know. It's ridiculous. It is way beyond being angry.

"In 1982 it was a blast to race here, but in today's day and age it is hard to have fun when you know the pin is out of the grenade. It is just a matter of time before it goes off."

The cars of Ken Schrader, Kirk Shelmerdine also were retired from the race.

http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/head...ega/index.html

[pache100]

I'm getting a little weary of Mark Martin's whining about the RP races; no one held a gun to his head and made him race another year, and he knew all about the restrictor plates when he took the job. You'd think he's the only one with the problem...everyone out there has the same plate. He apparently doesn't think about them much when he cashes the checks. Shut the heck up, Mark, and race the dang car.

(And, I'm a big Mark fan... )

[chode_regulator]

martin is always ing about something

what a crazy ass finish thgouh. man i was holding my breath the last 10 laps. i cant imagine what it was like being in one of those things.
kinda wierd how gordon and sadler slid back to 15/16 in the last half lap.

[pache100]

I HATE Jenny Johnson. That is all.

[chode_regulator]

regardless
badass race
i really didnt even care who won, it was damn exciting